There’s lots of change coming to the arts scene in Summerland.
The Summerland Community Arts Council recently announced that they would be moving to their new permanent home in the old library as soon as they could.
This is excellent news because, although it means a loss of their presence on Main Street, it really means the Summerland Arts Council once again has a permanent home here in Summerland.
As someone who also recently found a permanent home here in Summerland, myself, I know how exciting this is.
The Arts Council is no longer limited to a space that isn’t big enough to fully fit their needs and, most importantly, if there is something that is closer, but not quite there in the new building, they can do something about it.
I’ve spent most of my creative career life occupying space that wasn’t fully mine and, while I rarely felt like I was in a space that wasn’t ideal (there was one or two apartments along the way that really didn’t lend themselves well to having a space to create) it wasn’t really until I had my own space that I realized just how important it was.
Now that I’m in a space that I can call my own, I see the full potential of a wall of bookshelves, a reading nook, somewhere to make music and I feel free to make those changes without concern for what anyone thinks but me.
I’m excited to see the Arts Council grow and thrive in their new space. The possibilities are nearly endless and it will be fun to see what comes out of this.
There’s another little bit of change coming to the arts scene here in Summerland and that’s a name change to this column.
I was asked last week if I could think up a new name for the column, but, like a lot of writers, I find that coming up with a name or a title can be harder than writing an entire novel length book.
Attempts at coming up with a new name has resulted in things like, “View from the Writer’s Desk” which kind of works, but I typically work with my blinds drawn because the outside is often so much more interesting than staring at a screen, so it doesn’t quite work as well as it could.
Since I wasn’t having much luck, I thought I’d open up the floor a little here and see what the people of Summerland think. I’d love to hear all thoughts and suggestions, so reach out to me at dgpaton80@gmail.com with your ideas. In the meantime, I’ll continue to stare at the closed blinds in my office and hope something comes to me.
Douglas Paton is a Summerland writer and musician. If you know of a local arts and culture event, contact him at dgpaton80@gmail.com.
